Publisher's View: A Warm Welcome and a Sad Farewell

With this issue of Cincy Magazine, we say a sad farewell to one veteran journalist and a warm welcome to another.

What was to have been a happy reunion here between Jim Knippenberg and Peter Bronson was cut short by Jim’s untimely death. His column this month may be the last words he wrote.

Knip was a proud native of Price Hill who attended Elder High School before earning his bachelor’s and master’s in education at the University of Cincinnati. His first job was teaching English at Newport Catholic High School.

He joined the Enquirer in 1971, covering general news, then moved on to a variety of positions including music writer, gossip columnist and entertainment editor. Knip’s column writing philosophy: “I go to stuff — parties, benefits, restaurant openings. All the time, just trying to keep up with who’s doing what around town. Then, I report back to readers.”

We will miss his buoyant personality and his over-the-top appetite for life.

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We are delighted to welcome Peter Bronson as a regular contributor.

Pete was recruited to the Enquirer in 1992 from the Tucson Citizen in Arizona, where he’d worked with Enquirer publisher Harry Whipple. An unabashed left-winger and self-described “no-account hippie” in his youth, Pete skewed to a more politically conservative bent as editor of the Cincinnati op-ed pages. Born into a hotbed of Michigan liberalism, the Ann Arbor native amassed — before his journalism days — a huge treasure trove of life experiences, working as a car parker, busboy, clothing salesman, construction worker and snowplow driver.

The author of several books, including For Pete’s Sake (a collection of his Enquirer columns) and Behind the Lines: The Untold Story of the Cincinnati Riots, Pete will cover a variety of topics for our magazine. His writing philosophy: “A good column is like a good friend — honest, amusing, courageous, informative and fun to be with.”

As the city’s only remaining daily newspaper continues to decimate its ranks and send its most knowledgeable reporters out the door, we can only send a big thank you to the Enquirer publisher’s suite.

Cincy is delighted to have this experienced and opinionated journalist join our team.